#tw: childbirth complications

[thestressedsimmer]

Despite the heartache from losing a child, Elizabeth found great joy in bonding with little Genevote. She finally understood what her mother said about loving her children so much it hurt - she had never known her heart could be so full.

She sang songs to her, cuddled her, spent every waking moment she could with her.... But eventually, she realized she was starting to feel dizzy and weak.

Worried that she might drop the newborn, Elizabeth quickly put her down. When she caught a glimpse at the ground beneath her feet? Her breath caught in her throat.

Blood.

So much blood.

She swooned, the world suddenly spinning around her. Her vision was growing blurry and she felt her breath pick up. She had never been afraid of blood before but something about this felt bad.

"Your Grace?"

A voice broke through the ringing in her ears. Her midwife was walking up behind her, placing a hand on her arm. That felt steadying, but she still wasn't steady.

"I don't... feel so...."

Elizabeth tried to communicate what was going on, but her legs could hold her no longer. She collapsed backwards into the awaiting arms of her midwife. When the older woman saw the blood? She realized what was happening.

"You're alright, dear girl. You're alright." The woman soothed while lowering her to the ground. Knowing that she had to get Elizabeth stable to let the other women try and stop her bleeding.

Elizabeth clung onto conciseness for as long as she could. If there's one thing that could be said about the duchess? It's that she was stubborn.

One thing that struck the women in the room, though, was that her eyes were looking across the room. Almost like she was looking at someone.

The women kept working on her, not willing to give up. Hours went by with Elizabeth resting in the arms of the woman who delivered her children. Unfortunately, there wasn't much they could do. By the time they got the bleeding to stop, she had lost too much.

"I don't have to do everything you do, Joan... just most things..."

Those were the duchess' final words. She joined her elder sister in the Watcher's arms by the evening.

[simsdaughters]

Delay.

After over 24 hours, with no end in sight, the pain was immense, and without an epidural, Cassie was about ready to pass out. Wolfgang called the midwife in urgency, who quickly came to the residence and declared Cassie well past dilated enough, and ready to push out the little bundle of joy in her stomach.

[domina-honoribila]

Genuine question from someone who's had no children and no strong leaning on this issue, trying to hear different perspectives: what do home birth advocates suggest in cases where a woman DOES start have a significant complication, or has reason to expect an increased risk of having one? Even if 99% of women were totally fine there are always non-average people. I've always just heard the argument that complications are rare and often artificially caused but I don't have a good grasp of what the suggested course of action is for women who have undebatably already become high risk.

In a case where you genuinely do become high risk, you have a detailed conversation with your midwife about all of your options, and you make an informed decision. In many cases, if you need to transfer to a hospital, your midwife will be able to come with you to act as your doula and help advocate for you. For instance, with my last pregnancy my baby was breech for a while. She eventually turned on her own, but we discussed the options and the risks of having a home birth with a breech baby vs hospital vaginal birth vs planned c section. The entire Midwifery Model of Care is based on informed consent, evidence based practice, and maintaining healthy pregnancies to the extent possible while monitoring closely for complications.

[cagesings]

 @angelsweeps  /  riff  sent:  “you’re  the  best  thing  to  have  ever  happened  to  me.”

 it's  difficult  to  smile  at  him  in  the  doorway.  though,  it's  difficult  not  to  smile  even  as  the  corners  of  her  lips  waver  and  part  with  each  yawn.  staying  awake  this  long  to  be  able  to  see  her  husband  is  a  surprise  to  herself.  the  past  almost  eight  and  a  half  months  were  long,  to  say  the  least.  each  day  lasted  forever  and  was  shorter  than  the  last.  it  was  less  than  a  year  ago  that  they  found  out  they're  having  a  baby,  yet  it  feels  like  it's  been  at  least  a  decade.  especially  after  today  when  she  couldn't  fall  asleep  and  eventually  woke  him  up.  the  baby  coming  early  scared  her.  johanna  still  doesn't  feel  prepared  even  as  their  daughter  lays  in  her  arms.  

 ❝  you  should  find  a  better  thing,  then,  ❞  she  mumbles,  unable  to  raise  her  voice  any  louder.  ❝  come  here.  we  have,  um,  we  have  a  little  girl.  if  that's  alright.  ❞  the  last  words  sweep  through  as  habit.  no  matter  what,  they  have  a  daughter.  they  can't  change  that.  the  moment  they  laid  the  baby  on  her  chest  while  she  was  shrieking  and  flailing  her  little  arms  in  protest  of  coming  from  such  a  safe  place  to  joining  a  too  bright  and  scary  room.  johanna  can't  admit  now  that  having  a  little  girl  scares  her.  she  knows  she  should  hope  for  a  healthy  baby  --  that's  the  most  important  of  all  --  yet,  a  boy  she  can  protect.  girls  don't  have  that  same  luxury.  ❝  we  don't  even  have  a  name  for  her.  ❞

[etherbonded]

A sweet loving woman, someone who'd always aspired to be more than just her face. But had never felt as if she could because of her parent's constant cruel words and the tight leash they kept her on, for who would want anyone but the pretty face she's known to be and the false confidence she's built?

Yoshizawa Yuri has never been enough to the standards of her parents despite the judges constant praise for her beauty even when modeling at such a young age. It especially started to become an issue when in the middle of the year her parents practically forced her into specific diets in order to remain as prim and perfect as she could possibly be. She never truly realized how BAD it was until she meet her friends in high school who told her that it's not okay to be eating in such a way that makes her feel faint one some day, that it's not okay for her parents to be treating her the way they do.

Akechi Himari was the first person she met, and found true admiration for. Himari had a true boldness and courage to stand up and protect people. It... was something that Yuri had always wanted to have, and with Himari she felt as if she could finally do it. High school builds a courage within her, and even after the most of them drift apart... from each other ( Wakaba... Yunkina.. ) she manages to stay by Himari. She's happy at first, because their bond feels inseperable. ...Until the man known as Masayoshi Shido walks into Himari's life and rips her away from everything that made Himari herself.

...She watched it in slow motion, she watched as one of the strongest people she knew fell victim to a scummy man. Watching as their friendship tears from the seems as Shido pulls Himari away with wool over her eyes. Something that makes her slip back into her old habits before she had met her friends, to slip back into the fake shell she had once made.

...and upon doing it, her parents welcomed her back with open arms. But instantly threw her into a marriage promise she hadn't even been aware of, but she wore the mask once more, she hid her true insecure self once more. Any healing that had been there was now gone. It's funny how such a simple thing can BREAK someone.

Two to Three years later, she gives birth to the twins Kasumi and Sumire, but due to unfortunate complications, she passes due to the childbirth.

...Her last thoughts were a prayer that they lead a happier life that she did.

[stargirlrchive]

dad simon doing skin to skin with his premie baby girl because shes in the nicu ☹️

:c he’d be so so scared to hold his little babe !!

tw: mentions of childbirth and preterm labor, fem!reader

but ok like i genuinely think if simon decided to have kids with someone it would be when they are both ‘older’ (and i say that term loosely bc im thinking they’d both be in late 30’s early 40’s) but because of that when getting pregnant there are more complications that could happen. simon would be so careful with you, and your pregnancy.

making sure to take a leave so he can be there for every single appointment and just care for you because above all else he needs you to be healthy.

so when you do go into preterm labor he’s a mess. but he’s pulled himself together enough to get you to the hospital and thankfully once you were admitted everything went smoothly. but it doesn’t stop that ache and fear of now having his baby girl out in the world.

he was so happy, you were both healthy, for the most part, little riley just needs a few weeks to be able to come home.

now came the really scary part. he already knew his baby was gonna seem like the smallest thing in the world, but now? he was scared one wrong move would break one of her weak little bones.

you’re so exhausted as you waddle your way to the nicu, but the second your eyes land on your little girl everything else fades away. and simon wishes he could feel that relief but he’s so fucking terrified.

his eyes are raw from not crying, throat feeling like they shoved sandpaper down it as he sees his girls in front of him, safe.

and before he can try to gently back out of it, the nurse is encouraging skin to skin contact, and you just look so so tired, that he can’t say no. his fingers trembling and feeling uncoordinated as the nurse places his baby on his bare chest.

his little girl instantly falling back asleep and one of his hands is gently resting on her back. he’s biting down on some of his fingers to hold back the sob that had been stuck in his throat for the past 24 hours.

and then you’re both crying, and he’s holding the two of you and he knows he’d do anything to keep this forever.

[sesikudadaryti]

He knew it wasn't a good idea to do this, that he should have told Alyce and Kaera that they weren't doing this, and had Alyce take the babes and put them in their cribs. He had wanted her to have more freedom to have time with her babes, but he was also doing everything he could to keep her alive. She was deciding that she wasn't going to survive this and wasn't even trying. This was hard on her. He wouldn't deny that. But it was hard on him to watch her not be able to be the mother she wanted to be for her children. But it would come to pass only if she did what was hard for her, in order to see a tomorrow and watch them grow.

He watched Alyce go and fetch the Maester, looking to Kaera when she spoke. She was delerious, and he shook his head with a furrowed brow, gently shaking her when her eyes fluttered shut. This had been what he had feared would happen. This was all his fault. Had he just put his foot down sooner and said no, she would have been upset, but she would have been resting and healing. Not bleeding through her bandages, and slipping into unconsciousness.

"Kaera..." He gently shook her, trying to get her to wake. "Kaera wake for me my lioness. Please my love come back to me." He couldn't do this without her. His lips quivered as a tear fell onto her face. "I need you to be here with us. Please don't go."

Her eyes closed as she was surrounded but those she loved the most. She could feel little fingers grasping at her face and it made tears of joy fall down her face. She knew it was mostly her husband that made this possible but in her mind, she pushed out the thought that she wasn't really holding them. Her mind was filled with all the thoughts of the things she would do with them one day.

Kaera knew she shouldn't be doing this and although Daemon was right there, she could feel the weight of the two babies baring down on her. It was a dizzying feeling and although he hadn't said a word yet that she needed to stop, it was as though they could feel her pain and she looked to Alyce who knew instantly something was wrong and took Aegon and motioned to the wet nurse who ran over taking him so she could take Viserys.

Kaera's head felt strange and she could scarely hear what was going on around her. Alyce grabbed her shoulders looking at Daemon. "Your Grace, she seems to be going..." Just then the young girl looked down, eyes wide. "She's bleeding through her bandages. Will you move her over to her side so that I can run to get the Maester. He is jsut in the librayr."

The woman left as Kaera looked up at Daemon. She could hear the wet nurse and midwife behind him, taking care of the babes. "Their fingers were so soft on my face. I can see their eyes looking up at me when I close mine, like shining stars. My dragon, my prince. I do not feel quite mys..." with that Kaera felt her head spin and she passed out.

[chocobochaserstories]

Omega Heat Cycle Physiology

So, funny story, I'm a Pre-Veterinary Major in university, which means I know way, way too much about reproductive A & P and I thought about Omegaverse too hard and here we are. Totally didn't write this in livestock nutrition today, Not like we had a lecture, Dr. A was momming us because half of the class (me included) had our biology professor call us failures. I love Dr. A she's the best :) Anyhow, here's my take on Omega Heat Cycle Physiology. TW: I don't think there are any, maybe just warning for mildly in depth repro talk?

Omega Anatomy and Physiology

Presentation

Occurs around 12-14 years of age, typically genetically predictable, meaning that for the most part omegas of a family will present around the same age. For example, if multiple generations present at 12 years old, this trend will continue for several more generations. In addition, heat cycle lengths and frequencies are also genetically linked. A mother’s heat cycle, assuming she is omegan, can be used to predict a first heat length. Typical symptoms of presentation include heightened body temperature, cramping in the abdominopelvic and lumbar regions, soreness of the breast tissue, bloating, headaches, nausea, and typical symptoms of arousal. An omega who as not presented by fifteen years of age is considered to be late blooming. This is generally not harmful, but may shift the other stages of development by however many years beyond the normal period of development the presentation heat occurred. 

Pseudoheats

Typically occur between 14 and 18 years of age. During this period, an omega will experience heat cycles, however they are not mature heat cycles. During this period, omegas are capable of conception, however the reproductive organs are still in development, which can result in the pregnancy causing damages that can be permanent. Pregnancy during this period can lead to higher rates of miscarriage, chemical pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, and stillbirth, as well as higher instances of gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, and excessive strain on other non-reproductive organs. Pregnancies carried to viability have higher risks of preterm labor, low birth weight, childbirth complications for both the mother and baby, increased infant mortality within the first week, and increased rates of birth defects. The damages risked during this period also have significant potential to irreparably damage an omega’s future fertility, as well as cause temporary or permanent sterility due to reproductive damages and traumas. 

At this stage, the pseudoheats share many of the same symptoms of presentation heats (heightened body temperature, cramping in the abdominopelvic and lumbar regions, soreness of the breast tissue, bloating, headaches, nausea, symptoms of arousal), but at this point in development, hormonal-related arousal is more common due to hormone values during this period. During pseudoheats, omegas generally mature further towards their secondary gender’s characteristics. Areas of development include widening of the hips, deposition of fatty tissue in the lower abdominal cavity, and overall development of a more feminine silhouette, all under ideal conditions. In cases of inadequate nutrition, the development isn’t as obvious, but the body will still attempt to redirect resources to the development of areas of importance. As opposed to the presentational heat, pseudoheats are characterized by a steady climb in an omega’s hormones. In particular, estrogen, which is essential to the proper development of the reproductive tract and accessory structures. Heat Cycles will still be fairly irregular.

Transitional Heats

Typically begin around 18 years of age and continue until about 20 years of age. At this point in development, the hormones from the pseudo heats peak and stabilize. By this point, physical development is wrapping up and heats that occur during this period of development are very similar to mature heat cycles. Fertility during this period improves steadily, but it is still in development. Heat cycles begin to occur more regularly and stabilize in terms of frequency, length, and intensity. Symptomatically, transitional heats are typically more intense than pseudoheats, but not as intense as mature heat cycles. At this point, the symptoms are the same as the prior two stages, although arousal is greater in intensity in strength. In addition, an unmated, unbred omega may experience cramping or an increase in body temperature (up to a temperature of 101.5°F). During heats, the cervix is also softer and more malleable, aiding in the breeding process. For mated omegas, the breeding instinct is stronger and tends to be one of the few things on an omega’s mind during the peak of the cycle (active heat= ~7 days, so day 3-4). An omega being intimate with an alpha during this stage can expedite this stage and cause mature heat cycles, which is not necessarily good as this can lead to reproductive issues due to hastened development.

Mature Cycles

Occurs from age 21-22 and until the menopausal stages around age 50. At this point, it becomes legal to take heat suppressants, scent blockers, and other hormone medications, which can otherwise mess with development. The only major difference between mature heat cycles and transitional heat cycles is the intensity of cycles increases and the cycle frequency, which stabilizes. 

[jiejies-corner-store]

this cruel world

pairing. aventurine x reader tags/tw: fem!reader, pregnancy, complications with pregnancy, references to childbirth, angst w/ open ending, spoilers to aventurine's real name, mostly 2.1 spoiler free i think sfw a/n: i did not proofread this at all, but i'm playing through 2.1 and i have to keep stopping because baby aventurine is hurting my soul. might make a follow up to this pt. 2

The more you had, the more you stood to lose.

Aventurine lived his life holding onto this one fact.

“--vasha…”

So why… why did he ever aspire to gain more than he could handle to lose.

“Sir, you need to leave the room we need to stabilize her,” the nurses ushered him out of the room. The cold white lights of the hospital room made his head spin. The smell of sanitizer burned his airways. Everything was happening all at once and there was nothing he could do. He was about to crash out. He was about to lose it all.

From there it was a blur. It wasn’t until he felt a hand touch his shoulder that he even realized he’d been standing staring down at this… glass box for an hour. His neck strained but he couldn’t take his eyes off of it.

“He looks just like you,” Topaz said, joining her colleague, staring down at the small infant encased safely in the clear incubator. All sorts of things were attached to the steadily breathing Avgin child, monitoring… waiting. Just as he imagined you were at the moment. Hooked up to a hundred machines as the nurses and doctors worked to try to keep your brain alive and your heart pumping.

“I’ve… not even been able to hold him yet,” Aventurine said quietly. It was wrong. It was wrong to acknowledge his son’s existence. It was almost as if the second he did, he would lose you. A sick gamble.

Topaz broke her gaze and instead looked to Aventurine. “She’s going to be okay you know. These are the best doctors that the galaxy has to offer—”

She shut up when Aventurine had nothing to offer her except for a dejected look. After watching over the young Avgin in silence for a few more minutes, Topaz left with a simple pat on the father’s back, and left him to his thoughts.

Outside, rain poured in heavy sheets of water.

Finally, Aventurine sat down next to his newborn child and finally swaddled the child into his arms, closing his eyes as tears began to build up in them, “Welcome to this cruel world… Ilyas.”

When he opened his eyes again, an identical pair stared back in wonder.

[vlrghoes]

What Once Was | Roman Reigns

Author’s Note: I know I was meant to post Legal Affairs first but this idea has been in my head for so long and I wanted to take the plunge into writing it as I felt I could connect with the characters and the storyline more and managed to already write my first chapter (currently editing.) In future I will finally post Legal Affairs

Pairing: Roman Reigns x Black! Oc

Status: In progress, first chapter to be posted by 25/8/24

TW: Death, grief, overall dark chapter, pregnancy complications (?)

Let me know if you want to be on my tag list and I’ll tag you in future chapters

Joseph Anoa’i is at the peak of his career, his wife Ayanna, dies suddenly during childbirth on the night of his greatest victory at WrestleMania. Overcome with guilt and grief, Joseph is left to navigate the challenges of single parenthood with their newborn twins, struggling to balance the weight of his loss with the demands of raising his children alone.

Years later, Joseph has stepped away from the wrestling spotlight to devote himself to his sons. When he enrolls them in the daycare run by Kimora, a dedicated teacher battling her own health issues—PCOS and the aftermath of an ectopic pregnancy that left her with one fallopian tube—he finds himself slowly drawn to her. Kimora’s compassion and resilience offer a glimmer of hope for both Joseph and his children.

As Kimora helps Joseph’s son with a potential dyslexia diagnosis, she and Joseph begin to form a deep, yet tentative bond. Both must confront their past wounds and navigate their fears about the future.

Joseph and Kimora must face the challenge of reconciling their pasts with their present. As they find solace in each other, they must decide whether they can let go the pain of what once was and embrace the hope of what could be.

Chapter One | Chapter Two

[whatsk-poppinhomies]

Pairing : Dad!Kim Seungmin x F!Reader TW : pregnancy ; childbirth ; the pregnancy complications are finally announced ; Changbin is still the coolest best friend ; Seungmin trying to do better ; fluff at the end ; premature birth ; emergency c-section ; little bit of crack humor (i think it's funny) ; Word Count : 7.9k Request : so many people wanted part 2 to Seungmin Dad!Angst , and it won in the poll, so here we are! A/N : I hope this lives up to everyone's wishes of how they wanted it to be and how they wanted it to end! Also, I'm tagging everyone that seemed excited for part 2 and everyone who commented that they wanted to be tagged and the ones who said they wanted a part 2... I hope that's okay!

“You look like you’re waiting for a call from the president, calm down, buddy.” Hyunjin said as he sat on the couch, watching Seungmin pace the room back and forth. “Just talk to me while you wait… Did you get to see her? How big is she? Is the nursery set up? I can’t believe I get a little nephew, are you excited?!” 

Seungmin stopped in the middle of the room, glaring at Hyunjin who seemed to be full of optimism while it felt like his own life was in shambles. He hadn’t exactly told Hyunjin what was going on though, mainly because he was so focused on waiting for the call from Changbin that he didn’t want to answer anything else unless it was his phone. “I didn’t get to see her at all… I don’t know about the nursery, I don’t know about anything, that’s why I’m waiting for the call from Changbin because he vaguely said that she wasn’t doing okay and I’m really scared right now. Does that answer all of your questions?” 

Hyunjins smile fell immediately and he lowered his head. “Sorry… You don’t know what happened?” He asked, and Seungmin shook his head, dropping down into the recliner and throwing his head back with a loud groan. “I don’t know why he wouldn’t let you see her though… It’s your kid…” 

While Hyunjin had a point, Seungmin couldn’t stop thinking back on what Changbin said. “Just the mere thought of me apparently makes her cry… And he said that she doesn’t need to be stressed right now… I don’t even know if I’ll be able to see her before the baby is born… I’m having a son…” 

He was rambling now, not even caring that Hyunjin was in the room. “I know… You told me…” Hyunjin whispered, but Seingmin wasn’t listening. He shook his head as he continued to stare at the ceiling, his quiet sniffles filling the room. “Don’t cry… I’m sure that it’s not anything too bad. Maybe she just wasn’t feeling well and Changbin wanted her to rest. Maybe you’ll be able to see her once she’s feeling better… You need to be a little more hopeful.” 

“It’s not just that though…” Seungmin debated, turning to face Hyunjin with glossy eyes and flushed cheeks. “What if she doesn’t want to see me at all? What if she doesn’t want me in his life? What if she ends up with Changbin at the end of all of this because he’s been there with her through everything? What if I was too late?” 

Hyunjins lips pulled together into a thin line before opening with a small pop, and for the first time, he didn’t seem as optimistic. “You could have talked to them… You could have let her explain. You should have let her explain. You could have talked to Chan hyung… Jisung… You could have talked to any of us. You let your own thoughts get the best of you, and I understand where your worries came from, but you let them fester instead of trying to fix them.” 

Seungmin nodded slowly, he had nothing to say to that… Hyunjin was right. He had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts, in his own worries that he never even took the time to try to sort them out. The silence was awkward because Hyunjin was waiting for a response that Seungmin didn’t have, and the only thing that broke the silence was Seungmins phone vibrating on the coffee table. “Hello?!” He rushed out the word as soon as he answered, not even bothering to check the caller ID, only hoping that it was Changbin on the other end. 

“I can’t talk for long, she just finished her lunch and she’s resting again, I only have a couple minutes or so…” Changbin said as quietly as possible, and Seungmin wondered where he was right now. Why were you resting so much? What was wrong? “I’m gonna make this as short as possible. She started bleeding and I took her to the doctor. The doctor said it was partial placental abruption, but it’s too early for Y/N to deliver the baby, so she’s on bed rest. Her movements are very limited, she can only go to the bathroom and take a shower. I don’t want her to be stressed anymore than she already is, and I know that for some reason, you’re trying to come back all of a sudden, but she can’t handle that right now.” 

Seungmin had no idea what the hell Changbin was talking about, he didn’t know what placental abruption was, he did understand that it was too early to deliver, but he needed more information. “Is… Is the baby okay? Is Y/N okay? Are they going to die?” He hated saying that word in any connection with you or his son, but he needed to know… The lack of information was killing him. 

“I mean… I don’t know, Seungmin. I’m just going off what the doctor told me… And from what she said, it sounds pretty damn serious. You’d know if you had been here, but you haven’t.” Of course, another jab at his absence, and while it was to be expected, it didn’t change the fact that it pissed him off, especially right now when he was just trying to figure out what was going on. “Let me make it a little more simple for you… Your son's lifeline is slowly being unplugged, and we don’t know why, we don’t know how…. But if it completely unplugs, it could kill your son and really hurt Y/N… Okay? Does that help? Is that enough answers for you?” 

“No… It’s not.” Seungmin retorted, and through his anger, he felt nothing but fear. He didn’t want to lose his son, not before even having the chance to meet him or see him in pictures. He sure as hell didn’t want to lose you… But Changbin was ticking him off. “Why are you being such an asshole? Shouldn’t it be enough that I’m trying to come back? It’s not like I waited until she had him…” 

“Yeah, you waited until she was put on bed rest with 3 more months to go through this shit. You waited until she was at the most stressful and scary moment in her pregnancy just to show up at the door and almost stress her out even more. Why do you think I’m being an asshole?” Changbin argued back, huffing loudly. “You picked a really bad time to give a shit, and while I’d love to try to make things easier for you and make you feel better and help make up for the time that you threw away… I just think that the health of your son and Y/N is more important than your emotions.” 

“Well maybe it would be less stressful for her if you stopped assuming what was best for her and my son and just let me go up and see them myself!” Seungmin argued back, jumping up off the recliner and throwing his free hand into the air. “What if she wants me back in her life and you’re the reason that she’s so upset because you’re keeping me from seeing her! You ever think about that or do you just think about yourself?!” 

“Ohoho! That takes a lot of nerve coming from the guy who had to make up the most ridiculous excuse to get out of manning up and being a good boyfriend and a decent father! You basically accused her of being a whore and your son of being a bastard but sure, you’re the first person that she wants to see.” Changbin scoffed, and Seungmin hated the sound of it. “Stop trying to pretend that this wasn’t all your fault to begin with. Stop pretending that you’re some type of victim now that someone else decided to fill the gap that you left. I don’t have time for this, and neither does she. I’ll come into practice when I can, and like I said at the house, I’ll try to be cordial with you… But you just continue to piss me off.” 

“We-” Seungmin began, but the beeping coming through the speaker let him know the call had ended before he could say anything else. “Fuck!” He shouted, throwing his phone down onto the couch beside Hyunjin and dropping down into the recliner once more, his hands running over his face as he sighed loudly. “What the fuck!? Who does he think he is? Huh?” 

“I don’t know man, but… You both sound like you’re out of line and… The way that you two are acting, it’s not good for Y/N and the baby at all. You both need to put aside your bullshit and try to find a happy ground for her and the baby.” Hyunjin said, running his fingers through his hair and tsking his tongue. “That whole thing that happened right there… That was ridiculous and childish and if Y/N ever found out about that, she’d be so disappointed in the both of you. I actually feel worse for her and the baby than for either of you. Grow up… You’ve got a son on the way, start acting like an adult.”

///

“Who was that on the phone?” You asked when Changbin walked into your room, your head straining to lift just enough to look at him as he walked through the door. It was clear as day that he was annoyed, he wasn’t very good at hiding those emotions, he was like an open book. 

He shook his head, giving you a sheepish smile as he sat on the edge of your bed. “It was no one important… How are you feeling? Do you need to go to the bathroom? Are you hungry?” He asked, trying to change the subject. It wouldn’t be that easy though, mainly because you had a pretty good idea of who he was talking to, you just wanted to see if he’d be honest. 

“Binnie…” You murmured, reaching out and grabbing his hand to give it a soft squeeze. You knew that the only reason he was trying to keep it from you was because he cared and he didn’t want you to get hurt, but you were an adult, you were having a baby… “It was him… It was Minnie, wasn’t it?” You asked, and he rolled his eyes as his nose scrunched up in disgust. 

“I hate it when you call him that… He doesn’t deserve the nickname… It’s too cute for someone like him.” Changbin grumbled, his thumb brushing over your knuckles lightly, something he often did to calm himself down. “Even if it was him… It’s not fair that he gets to decide when he wants to be in your life… I’ve been taking care of you and he still acts like I’m the one that took you away from him. I wouldn’t have to be here if he wasn’t such an idiot.” 

You dropped your head down to the pillow, chewing on your bottom lip as you stared at the ceiling that Changbin had so generously decorated with little drawings from all of the guys and even a poster from the new album that he had unboxed with you… The poster happened to be one of him which only made him happier. “I know that you don’t like him right now… But I still love him… Even though you think I’m stupid for that…” 

“I never said you were stupid for loving him…” Changbin cut you off, looking over at you with a small pout. “I just said that I didn’t understand why or how you could still love someone who assumed those things about you.” He corrected and you nodded your head along with his words. 

“But you think it… Either way… I love him, and maybe it’s because he’s the father of this little guy… But I’m not going to keep my son from seeing his father, especially if Seungmin wants to be in his life. I can’t take that away from either of them…” You explained for what seemed like the millionth time, except this time, Seungmin had actually come back, and while you really understood Changbins reasons for keeping him away, you were still upset about it. 

“What if he stresses you out… Huh? What then? You know that being stressed out isn’t good for you or the baby… Why do you want to do this to yourself?” Changbin tried to reason, but you only shook your head, already beginning to cry as you once again thought about Seungmin and the months that he had missed, the future he seemed so willing to give up on before. “Don’t… Don’t cry, you know I hate it when you cry… I… What… What do you want me to do?” He finally relented, his head hung low, and you could see it was killing him to give you this option because he knew what you’d say, what you’d ask for. 

“Can you just… Call him… And ask him to come over? I want to see him… I really do…” You whispered, and Changbin looked at you, giving you one last chance to back out of this choice that he thought was quite dumb… But you nodded your head to emphasize and he groaned softly, getting up off the bed and walking towards the door. “Thanks, Binnie.” 

As much as you would have liked for the call to be made in the same room, you felt like that in itself would be stressful for you. You didn’t want to hear them argue, and you had this gut feeling that Changbin would still be in his mood when inviting Seungmin over. That didn’t stop you from listening to bits and pieces of the conversation though, and you could hear Changbin being short with Seungmin… And truthfully, the only reason you knew it was Seungmin was because of the way Binnie was talking. 

“No way!” Changbin shouted, and you wished that the phone was on speaker so you could hear just what was going on, but you were left to just listen to Changbins end of the call. “I’m not picking you up and taking you to the damn flower shop! That’s ridiculous! If you want to get her flowers, find someone else to drive you over here.” A moment of silence followed, and then you heard Bins agitated sigh. “Oh please, you should be happy that I even called you to let you know she wanted you to come over. I could have talked her out of it! It’s not like you deserve to see her anyway!” 

Even without hearing Seungmins end of the call, you were already getting stressed. When he came back into the room after ending the call, you couldn’t even pretend like you hadn’t been listening. “I really do appreciate the fact that you care so much about me, Binnie… But could you at least try to act decent? I know you hate him, but you don’t have to fight my battles for me… Especially considering I don’t even want to fight… I just want to see him.” 

“Yeah, that’s the part I don’t understand…” He mumbled, returning to his place on the edge of your bed. “You’re too loving… You’re too forgiving. If I don’t fight your battles, I sure as hell know that you won’t. You just let people hurt you and you pretend that you’re okay, but if you were okay, you wouldn’t cry so much.” His lips pulled into a thin line as he looked at you, noticing the way you wouldn’t even look at him, your eyes averted to the other side of the room. “Is it so bad that I don’t want to see you get hurt?” 

“I’m not saying that it’s bad…” You muttered, fumbling with a loose thread on the blanket to keep your mind busy. “I’m an adult though, Changbin… I have a baby on the way… You’re not always going to be able to protect me. I’ve got to learn how to handle things myself, and… Even though I’m not yelling at people over the phone or threatening them with my nonexistent massive muscles… I can still handle it…” 

He chuckled softly as the mention of the muscles, his hand moving to squeeze your upper arm. “When you have this baby, I’m taking you to the gym with me. You’re gonna start doing the Binnie workout.” He joked, earning a small giggle from you as you tried to flex what little muscle you had. “Gonna get you so strong, you’ll be lifting little dudes stroller with one arm and holding him with the other.” 

///

Seungmin was shaking when he pulled up outside of your house, gripping tightly onto the gift bag that had a little outfit for his son and a bouquet of flowers for you. Hyunjins words had replayed in his mind the entire time he was browsing through the flowers, the fact that a bouquet of roses and apologies wouldn’t make up for what he had done… That’s why Seungmin didn’t pick roses, he had chosen your favorite flowers, something that he proudly remembered you talking about. 

His feet could barely carry him up the stairs, his knees felt wobbly and his hands were trembling as he lifted one to knock on the door. He couldn’t hear you or Changbin inside, but he was pretty sure you both were there considering the fact that Changbins car was still parked right out front. He could have knocked again… He should have knocked again, but in his mind, you had already said you wanted him there, and you were carrying his child… He just let himself in, walking quietly through the living room and down the hall where he saw you and Changbin in the bedroom. 

Seeing Changbin so close to you, touching you, making you giggle… It was infuriating, but he tried to bury that feeling as he rapped his knuckles against the bedroom door to let you and Changbin know he was there. “Wow… You don’t even knock, do you?” Changbin muttered when his head whipped around and he saw Seungmin standing there. 

“I did knock… You were too busy touching all over her to answer the door.” Seungmin retorted, walking further into the room and freezing when he saw you laying in the bed. You looked just as you did when he had left 6 months ago, but he could see the swell of your stomach underneath the blanket, and there was a certain kind of warmth that bloomed in his chest when the realization hit that it was his kid in there. “H-Hey…” 

Changbin might as well have completely disappeared, and in Seungmins eyes, he had… All he could focus on was you, the way your face contorted, and it looked like you were trying to smile, but there was a sadness in your eyes that he knew was also caused by him. “Hi…” You muttered back, giving a small wave of your hand before dropping it back down on the bed beside you. “I didn’t think you’d come…” 

“Why wouldn’t I?” He quizzed, taking another step towards the bed. “I wanted to see you… I came to see you earlier today and Changbin said you were resting. He wouldn’t even let me inside. He made me stand out in the pouring rain while he told me basically how much of a piece of shit I was.” 

“See!” Changbin screeched, pointing towards Seungmin as he looked at you. “He only agreed to come here because he wanted to start shit! Sure! Make yourself look like the victim even though you’re the one who left!” 

Seungmin jumped up off the bed, his finger pressing into Changbins chest. “You’re just trying to keep me away from her! You say it’s because you want to make sure her and the baby stay healthy, but I saw the way you were touching her! You’ve got hidden motive and I’m not fucking stupid! Get away from my girlfriend and my kid!” 

Changbins head fell back as he let out a loud, sarcastic laugh. “Oh!? You mean the girlfriend that you broke up with?! The kid that you denied!? Is that who you’re talking about?!” His chest puffed out and he pushed Seungmin away from him, causing him to stumble back against the nightstand. “I invited you over here because she wanted to see you and talk to you! If you’ve got a problem with me, we can handle it somewhere else. She doesn’t need your bullshit and your pity party act. No one here feels bad for you for what you did.” 

“You said that you were gonna talk her out of wanting to see me! You’re trying to take over! Go find your own girlfriend and have your own kid!” Seungmin shouted back, his anger through the roof at this point. 

“How about you both just stop?” Your voice came through all the noise, so soft, so timid, and they both paused to look at you. There were tears in your eyes and you were already beginning to sniffle as your bottom lip quivered. “You’re acting like idiots… You’re both making me regret wanting either of you around. If you’re gonna keep fighting, just… Go somewhere else.” 

“No… No, I want to be here… I want to see you.” Seungmin quickly pleaded, grabbing your hand on instinct, and while he thought you’d pull away, your fingers slipped between his and you pulled him closer. “I won’t fight… I just want to be here with you… I’ll ignore him.” Your head nodded slowly, and then you shot a stern look at Changbin who’s hands flew up in irritation before he stormed out of the room. “Does he… Does he move a lot? How do you get to the doctors if you have to stay in bed all the time? How do you… How do you shower?” 

You snorted softly, shaking your head. “I know what you’re thinking… It’s pretty obvious now… Changbin does not help me in the shower. I go by myself, he just has to help me get out of bed so I don’t strain too much.” That explanation in itself was relieving to hear, but you weren’t done yet, and Seungmin listened intently to everything you had to say. “He moves a whole lot, can’t get him to sit still, especially when I’m trying to sleep. He’s a menace… Just like you.” Seungmin chuckled lightly, already feeling so close to his son, he had never met him, and this was the closest he had been to you and your stomach since he had left, but he felt as close as ever to you and the baby. “The doctors have to come here to check on me every other day, and they call me daily just to see how I’m doing. It’s too early to have him, so they just have to monitor me closely.” 

“If it’s okay with you…” Seungmin started, moving closer to you on the bed and letting his free hand move down to your stomach, smiling softly to himself when he felt a bit of movement beneath your skin. “I want to be here… I want to stay with you. I want to be here when he’s born and every single day after that. I’m sorry for what I put you through… I can’t make up for the time that I lost from being a total idiot… But I want to be in his life, and I want to be in yours.” 

“Why did it take so long for you to figure it out?” Your voice was low, it sounded like your throat was closing up and Seungmins heart clenched hearing you sound so upset. “You could have asked… We could have talked about it… You missed so much.” He nodded to your words, he knew what he could have done, he knew what he should have done, but he hadn’t done anything. “I guess it’s… It’s too late to try to play catchup… It would be weird starting over from here though… Wouldn’t it?” 

Your weak chuckle as you motioned to your stomach had him smiling, although it was more of a grimace. “I don’t want to start over.” He mumbled, absentmindedly playing with your fingers as he stared at your stomach, not willing to admit it out loud, but he couldn’t look you in the eyes, not without feeling ashamed for what he had put you through. He only felt worse for expecting you to want to pick up where you left off, and honestly, things weren’t so good then either. “I want to tell you that I… I love you…” Your eyes widened at those three words, and it was noticeable, and it made him feel like shit. When was the last time he had told you that? “I want to say it every single day… I’ll say it a thousand times a day… Just to make up for every single day that I didn’t say it. I love you… I’ll start now… I love you.” 

“Shut up…” You mumbled, pulling your hand away from his, much to his disappointment, but he watched as you wiped your eyes, blinking them quickly, and a single tear rolled down your cheek. He quickly caught it with his thumb, his hand lingering on your cheek a little longer as he let himself really look at you. “What? I know… I’m not as pretty as before… It’s hard to brush my hair and do my makeup when I can’t move.” 

A soft scoff blew through his nose as he leaned in to press a kiss to your forehead. “Hush, bubby.” He cooed, letting his fingers dance across your face ever so light and down to your stomach once more. “I think you look just as beautiful… Maybe even more now…” 

“You weren’t even this sweet when we first started dating.” You commented, and he rolled his eyes. “You’re raising my expectations, Seungminnie. You better be like this all the time now.” 

His nose crinkled in fake disgust as he let out a groan. “I have 6 or more months to make up for being a jerk, that’s the only reason I’m being like this. Don’t call me out on it though, I feel gross.” 

Your tongue poked out from between your lips and his laughter, your laughter, it came out more genuine now. “I think it’s cute… You’re cute… Although I do miss you being the biggest tsundere in the world… Mr. I’m Not Soft.” You reached up to poke his cheeks, and while he’d usually pretend to be disgusted by it, he leaned into your touch now, pressing his lips against the palm of your hand. “I missed you…” You whispered, and he nodded his head in understanding, in agreement, because he truly missed you too. 

“So… If you two are done being super sappy now… I feel like I’m next in line for an apology.” Changbin said, finally making his presence known in the doorway to the bedroom. “I put up with a lot of shit for you, buddy. I want an apology, a hug… And I want my friend back…” He pouted from his spot near the door, his arms outstretched towards Seungmin. 

“I’m sorry… But ew. No… I don’t feel like doing all that right now. I am sorry though… For being an ass, and because I will not give you a hug right now. Maybe later though.” Seungmin teased, and Changbin slowly backed out of the room, and while he assumed that Changbin would stay a little longer, the front door opened and clicked shut, then the sound of a car being started up, leaving Seungmin and you alone in the house once again. “I guess I’m back for good now…” 

“I guess you are…” 

///

“How is she doing? Is the doctor still coming to see her? Does she have someone at the house coming to stay with her while you’re here?” Changbin asked as he sat on the floor beside Seungmin in the practice room. It had been almost two months since Seungmin had come back into your life, 7 weeks to be exact, and things were perfect. Seungmin couldn’t be happier, it was like he had never been gone, simply picking up at a time before his thoughts had gotten the better of him. 

“You really are annoyingly protective of her…” Seungmin joked as he leaned his head back against the mirror. “My sister is going to stay with her until my mom can take over. I made sure all of her favorite snacks are in the house and if she has to use the bathroom, they both know what to do to help her get out of the bed. The doctor is coming tomorrow though, that’s why I asked Chan hyung if I could come in a bit later.” 

“That’s all good but… How is she doing?” Changbin emphasized the very first question he had asked. It had been 7 weeks since he had last seen you, and while Seungmin had told him multiple times that he was still allowed to come over and hang out with you, Changbin didn’t want to cross that invisible line, especially so soon after things between you and Seungmin had just been fixed. 

“She’s been complaining of cramps this morning…” Seungmin mumbled, and while he knew that Changbin would bring you up, he thought that he’d be able to come to work to escape the worry at least for a couple hours. “That’s why I called the doctor, and I wanted them to come in today but apparently they couldn’t, so she has to wait until tomorrow.” 

The fact that the doctor thought it would be okay to wait made Seungmin relax a little though, if the doctor thought it was serious, they would have come in immediately to check on you… “Just let me know what’s going on, okay? Keep me in the loop, and if you two need anything… I’m here for you both.” Changbin sighed, drumming his hands on his knees. “Is she scared? Is she okay?” 

Seungmin shook his head, tapping his phone and looking down at the screen to make sure there were no new notifications before answering. “She said she’s fine… That she isn’t worried, but I know she’s lying. I can see it in her eyes, she’s scared…” 

“Oh I’m sure she is. You should have seen her when she first found out. She was an absolute wreck. I think she cried for an entire week. She was begging me to call you and get you over to the house the whole time, it was devastating.” Changbin didn’t mean any harm in telling Seungmin about the time, but he couldn’t help but feeling like absolute garbage hearing what you had gone through, knowing that he wasn’t around when you needed him most. 

“Yeah.. Let’s practice again… Please?” Seungmin muttered, trying to change the subject so he wouldn’t get worked up. He and Changbin were on good terms now, at least, as good of terms as two guys can be on after what had happened. “I really want to get this choreo down, I’ll be able to make it to one of the comeback shows if she lasts until her due date.” 

“Right… Right, you’re right.” Changbin pushed himself up off the floor, grabbing Seungmins hand and pulling him up alongside him. “Everything is gonna be fine though. Y/N was doing great, the doctor said that she would be just fine if we kept up with her bed rest, and… She’ll make it to the due date. Her and the baby will be fine, I’m like, 100% about it.” 

The song ended for what felt like the thousandth time, the guys standing around the room sweating and panting as they held onto the water bottles that they could barely even lift to their lips at this point. “Yah… Seungmin!” Hyunjin called from the back of the room, his voice dry and sounding absolutely parched as he held up Seungmins phone. “Your things been going crazy back here, vibrating nonstop. It’s a bunch of notifications and calls from Y/N, your mom, and your sister.” 

Now, there was absolutely no reason for the three of you to be calling at the same exact time, and Seungmin felt his stomach drop as he ran over to Hyunjin, snatching the phone out of his hand and looking at the screen. “Some of these calls are from 30 minutes ago…” Seungmin couldn’t hide the irritation in his voice. “You heard it going off… Why didn’t you tell me?! You could have stopped the music, you could have pulled me over!” 

“I didn’t know! I thought they were just calling to let you know that everything was okay! I didn’t think you’d want me to stop practice for that!” Hyunjin snipped back, huffing loudly through his nose as his arms crossed over his chest.

Seungmin ran his hands through his hair, panic setting in as he looked around the room at all the guys who seemed just as confused as Hyunjin, maybe even more… Except one… Changbin was wearing the same mask of concern that Seungmin knew he was wearing himself. “Call…. Call my sister or my mom, call both of them. I’ll try to get a hold of Y/N…” Seungmin rushed out the order and Changbin nodded, running out into the hallway, his phone already held up to his ear. Seungmin started dialing your number, listening to the ringing that went on for far too long without an answer. 

“Do you need me to drive you home to her? Maybe it’s not too serious? Did she answer?” Minho spoke up, and Seungmin shook his head fast, his chest tightening up as he tried to call you again. “She might just be in the bathroom…. Maybe you’re overreacting because you know that she’s not in the best of shape right now.” It wasn’t just that though. It was the fact that if anything bad did happen, you were still only 31 weeks pregnant. It was too early to have to baby, and there were major issues that you could face as well. There was a lot on the line here, and he needed to know that you were okay… He was furious with Hyunjin for completely ignoring the vibration, he was pissed at himself for even coming into work today when you were having cramps… He was mad at everyone. 

“We need to go… Like now!” Changbin shouted from the door, his head peaked in just enough to call out to Seungmin. Those words were definitely not what he wanted to hear, but he was already in motion, running out the door and then sprinting down the hallway behind Changbin who was already slamming his finger against the call button for the elevator. “Your sister… She’s totally freaking out right now man… Y/N started bleeding again and they called an ambulance… And they rushed her in for an emergency delivery of the baby… Apparently the placenta detached completely.” 

Completely… Completely? He had read about that happening, what would… what could happen if that were the case. His knees buckled as he stepped into the elevator, his back falling against the wall, his hand weakly gripping onto the side railing that wasn’t able to support him or help pull him up at all. “Who’s in the room with her? Is anyone with her right now? I don’t want her to be alone…” 

If anything happened to you or the baby, he’d blame himself, he’d never stop blaming himself. He wasn’t there when it started, and he wasn’t there now either. He just continued to fail you and his son, and he was beginning to wonder if these things happened as a sign, a way of the universe telling him that he didn’t deserve either of you. “They wouldn’t let anyone in… Your sister said that she looked through the little window and the last thing she saw was the mask being put over Y/N's face to put her to sleep. The doctors had to move fast…” Changbin explained as calmly as possible, but it was obvious, they both were freaking out. 

“Can you drive me… Can you get me to the hospital?” Seungmin asked, unable to get his heart to beat properly, the panic setting in full force now, his breaths unsteady as he looked up at Changbin from the floor. “Will they even let me in? Oh god… What if they don’t let me in? I need to be there with her… They can’t keep me out of the room, can they?” 

He was full of questions, but Changbin wasn’t answering any of them, his eyes downcast as he chewed on his bottom lip. “I… I don’t know… I don’t know what’s going on… Your sister and your mom haven’t called in a bit…” Changbin muttered, looking at his phone that was free of notifications, as was Seungmins. “I’ll get you to the hospital though… Don’t worry… It’s gonna be okay.” 

///

“Look! Look!” You cheered from the couch, causing Seungmin to look up from his phone. “He’s pulling himself up… I think he’s gonna do it this time…” Your voice softened, trying not to call the attention of your son just yet. Seungmin watched with wide eyes, his phone set down on the couch beside him, completely forgotten about as he looked on at his son who was now getting his balance on the side of the couch. “I think he’s gonna do it…” 

“Shh…” Seungmin hushed you, leaning forward to fully focus on the little boy that was wobbling slowly across the floor, one hand still gripping the edge of the couch until there was no more cushion to hold on to, his arms shooting forward as he took one step, and then another, babbling to himself until he got to the tv, his chubby hands pressing against the screen that was playing the groups latest comeback. “He did it… He did it!” Seungmin shouted once it had fully set in that his son had not only just taken his first step, but he had taken about five just to slap his hand against his fathers face on the screen. 

“My baby!” You cheered even louder now, jumping up off the couch and scooping up your son, holding him up that air and then bringing him back down to pepper kisses across his face. “You did it bubby!” You cooed, and while you sounded excited, Seungmin could also hear that you were choked up, on the verge of crying, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t too. 

“We didn’t get it on video…” Seungmin thought out loud, looking at his phone and then back to you, but you didn’t seem to care. The important thing was that you both had been there to see it, neither of you had missed it. “Babe…” Your face was now buried against your son’s tummy, something you did often to blow raspberries, but this time Seungmin knew you were trying to hide the fact that you were crying. 

Seungmin grabbed your son from your arms, pressing a kiss to the top of his head before carefully setting him down on the floor and then pulling you in for a tight hug, his hand rubbing circles against your back to try to calm you down. “They said… He wouldn’t be able to… That he wouldn’t be as quick to do these things as other infants…” You said shakily against Seungmins chest, and his hand moved to your hair to brush over it as he hushed you once more. “The doctors said he’d be delayed… And he isn’t… He’s so smart, Minnie… I’m so proud of him…” 

He nodded understandingly, those fears had been there from the moment your son was born, and they were only ingrained further into his head after hearing the doctor talk about what it would be like to raise a child that was born so early. “Of course he’s smart… he’s just like every other child, babe… He’s fine.” He reassured you, slipping his finger under your chin to tilt your head up, his forehead resting against your own. “And even if he wasn’t… I’d love him just the same. I’m just lucky that you both are here, that you both are okay…” 

You hummed in agreement, quickly wiping the tears from your eyes before peering around Seungmin to watch your son play with his toys. “I just want him to always be happy and healthy… I want him to always know how much we love him… And how proud we are of him…” 

“And he does… He will…” Seungmin whispered, smiling softly down at you as he helped catch the tears that had already fallen. “There’s no one that will ever love him more than we do, no one that will ever be more proud of him than we are.” He kissed you gently before pulling you down on the couch beside him, his arm loosely draped over your shoulder as your head fell against his. “I gotta tell Changbin… He’s gonna be so mad that he missed it. I’ll have to record him when he walks again.” 

Changbin, who had become closer to Seungmin than you ever imagined after they had rushed to the hospital together just a little less than a year ago. They had taken turns between sitting with you, and going to the NICU to check on your son and ask the doctors how he was doing. They both had cried at your bedside when they thought you were sleeping, and Seungmin had probably gotten more hugs from Changbin in that week than he had in his entire time knowing him. 

Seungmin had been a wreck when he saw your son in the incubator, the billi lights glowing across your sons almost translucent skin, the tubes that were coming out of his nose and his mouth to help him breathe, the IV that was stuck in the vein in the side of his neck just to make sure he had enough nourishment. It was the scariest time for the both of you, and Changbin had been there through it all. 

He had driven you and Seungmin up to the hospital every single day while you both waited those two months to finally be able to bring him home. He’d go through the hassle of getting a visitors pass just to be able to walk into the NICU and say hi to your son, to check on him and see how he was doing before leaving just to pick you both up a couple hours later. 

Changbin was the one who held you and Seungmin together during those awful two months, when you both were emotionally drained, and he was the one who had made sure there was a carseat in the back of his car the day that you could finally bring your son home, working with Seungmin to make sure it was installed properly before excitedly standing off to the side to watch you buckle your son in. 

He was the bestest friend, the bestest brother, and the bestest uncle that you, Seungmin, and your son could have ever asked for. “What do you mean you forgot to record it?! How could you not record such a pivotal moment in little mans growing journey!? You better record it next time… Actually… I’ll just come over! I bought him a new toy and I think he’s gonna like it. I’ll be over in an hour.” 

“You tired of him yet?” Seungmin asked as he replayed the voice message that Changbin had sent, his chest vibrating with laughter at how dramatic he sounded.

“I could never get tired of either of you.” You cooed, looking up at Seungmin who was already ready to give you another kiss, his fingers lightly squeezing your shoulder. “Although…” You continued after his lips pulled away from yours. “I think he’s trying to outdo the other guys in the whole uncle thing… bubby has so many toys.” 

“I think he already outdid them in the uncle thing.” Seungmin commented, leaning back against the couch and letting out a yawn. “I’m glad he’s here… I’m glad you two have him if I’m busy at practice… I never thought I’d say that…” Seungmin muttered, running a hand through his hair.

“I’m glad I have all of you…” You whispered back, kissing along his shoulder before looking up at him with eyes that looked too innocent to be believable, your lips pulling up at the corners and the expression screamed mischief. “I’m just… really happy that you two are so close… ya know… with another one on the way…It’d be nice to have Binnie babysit for doctors appointments and stuff…” 

“Another one…?” Seungmin whispered, his eyes wide like a deer in headlights, looking between you and your son who was in his own world, surrounded by the multitude of toys that he had. “Are you sure…? I did that… Again? I made another one?” 

You giggled lightly as you nodded your head, and then the front door swung open, Changbin loudly announcing his presence before pausing and then his mouth fell open as he pointed at you. “You already told him?!” 

“You already knew!?” Seungmin shouted back, and then his eyes were back on you. “Why did you tell him first? Were you worried I’d be mad? I would never be mad at you about that… I love you.” 

“Yah!” Changbin groaned, shutting the door behind himself before going over to pick your son up, ruffling his hair and saying hello before setting him back down and turning back towards you and Seungmin. “I’m always the first to know about your weak pull out game. Congratulations though, proud of you. Happy for you. Might need to upsize in the whole house department though if I’m gonna be the best uncle to two of your kids.” 

“My pull out game is not weak!” Seungmin defended himself, his entire face turning a bright shade of red. “This was totally planned. I love being a dad so much, I thought… Hey… What if I could be a dad to two kids? That was the whole thing, definitely planned.” 

Changbin scoffed and you even looked up at Seungmin with raised eyebrows. “Yeah… Okay.” Changbin sarcastically agreed, going over to the fridge and grabbing two beer cans and a bottle of water for you. “Just wait till the guys find out about this, you’re never gonna live it down. Not even a full ten months since little man was born either. You’re impatient.” 

“Shut up, man…” Seungmin mumbled, grabbing the beer and chugging it quickly, hoping to hide his embarrassment under the guise of being flushed due to the alcohol. “I’m sure you’d be the same way if you had a girlfriend.” 

And the bickering continued, so much that even your son ended up toddling over- much to Changbins excitement- and climbing onto Seungmins lap to join the conversation, albeit, in baby talk, but you all found it adorable. Your family was perfect, it surely hadn’t started out that way, and there had been many bumps in the road to get to where you were now, sitting in the living room surrounded by your favorite boys, another child on the way, and while none of this had been planned, you were happy. Sometimes it was the most spontaneous things, things that happened without a single thought… those things were what made life worth living, it made life perfect… and for you, it made life complete. 

Taglist : @steviesbergthuis @lovesunshinefelix @0325tiny @dwaekkiiiiii @jihyun2monster @skzswife @saiko-skz @keylex @strawberry31 @turtledove824 @ladyofodaiba @klyde06 @jellyglly

[jermer10]

Could you please do an imagine for the mercs helping (reader) give birth in 2fort, with special focus on medic please 🥺

TF2 in the midst of chaos | medic x reader

afab reader | i cut this ask down to medic only, hope that's alright anon!

tw: graphic depiction of childbirth

drabbles under the cut :P

Medic was never one to shy away from chaotic situations. It was where he thrived, where he was most at home. Whether stitching up his teammates in the middle of battle or performing experimental surgeries, the pandemonium rarely unsettled him. But today, as the sounds of explosions echoed outside, there was no battle more pressing than the one happening here in the medbay. You lay on the gurney, hands gripping the sides as a wave of pain surged through your body. Another contraction. You squeezed your eyes shut, trying to focus on your breathing, but the pain was overwhelming. Sweat dripped down your face, mingling with tears as you struggled to maintain control.

“Ja, ja, breathe! You’re doing fantastically, mein Liebling,” Medic’s voice cut through the fog of pain. He stood beside you, his sharp blue eyes focused entirely on you, his hands moving swiftly and efficiently to check on your progress. His calm was a stark contrast to your panic, and it somehow helped you hold on, if only a little longer. “I-I didn’t think this would happen today!” you groaned, another contraction tightening your belly like a vice. The timing couldn’t have been worse. A full-on battle raged outside, and the last thing you expected was to go into labor in the middle of it. Yet here you were, gasping for breath as your baby decided that now was the time.

“Birth does not wait for ze battlefield!” Medic said with a slight grin, his voice holding a strange mix of humor and confidence. His hands, skilled from years of surgery, were gentle but firm as he examined you, ensuring everything was progressing smoothly. Despite the chaos outside, Medic's presence reassured you. His clinical expertise mixed with the tenderness of knowing he was about to be a father gave you a sense of security. You had no doubt that if anyone could handle this situation, it was him. Medic stepped to your side, wiping the sweat from your brow with a soft cloth before speaking again. “You are progressing well, meine Liebe. The baby vill be here soon. You are almost at ze finish line.”

You gripped his hand, squeezing it tightly as another contraction hit. Your body trembled, and you felt tears prick the corners of your eyes. “It hurts… so much.” you groaned. “I know it does,” Medic murmured, his tone unusually gentle. “But you are strong, und you are almost there. I’ve done far more complicated procedures, but this… this is a miracle, ja?” You couldn’t help but let out a small, breathless laugh through the pain. Even in the midst of labor, Medic’s eccentric nature shone through. He placed a hand on your shoulder, squeezing gently as he locked eyes with you, his expression serious but full of support. “Now, listen to me. When the next contraction hits, I need you to push with everything you have, understand?”

You nodded, your heart pounding in your chest. Your breaths were shallow, and the pain was like nothing you’d ever felt before, but Medic’s words gave you the strength to keep going. You trusted him completely. Another contraction hit, stronger than the last. You cried out, the pain overwhelming, but Medic’s voice was there, steady and commanding. “Jetzt! Push!” You bore down with all your strength, gripping the sides of the gurney until your knuckles turned white. The pressure was intense, and your body trembled with the effort, but you kept going, pushing through the pain.

“That’s it, that’s it! You’re doing it, mein Schatz,” Medic encouraged, his voice calm yet filled with a strange, quiet pride. He moved quickly, his hands ready to guide your baby into the world. The contractions came faster now, your body giving everything it had. Each push felt like a battle of its own, but Medic’s voice was there, a beacon of stability in the storm. You focused on his words, the soft encouragements he gave, and the comfort of his hand on your shoulder. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Medic’s voice rose with excitement. “I can see ze head! Just one more push!”

Summoning the last of your strength, you pushed with everything you had, tears streaming down your face as you let out a final, guttural cry. And then, suddenly, the pressure eased. There was a brief, heart-stopping moment of silence, and then, the sound of your baby’s first cry filled the room. Medic’s face broke into a rare, genuine smile as he lifted the newborn into his hands. “Wunderbar! You did it!” Your body sagged in relief, exhausted but overcome with emotion as you watched Medic carefully clean and swaddle the baby. He turned to you, his smile still in place as he gently placed the tiny bundle in your arms.

“Meet our little one,” he said softly, his voice filled with fatherly pride. Tears filled your eyes as you looked down at your baby, overwhelmed by a flood of emotions—relief, joy, exhaustion, love. The pain of labor was already a distant memory as you cradled your child close to your chest. Medic stood back, watching the two of you with softness. The chaos of the battlefield outside had faded away, and for this brief moment, it was just the three of you—safe, warm, and together. “You did wunderbar, mein Schatz,” Medic said quietly, his voice filled with a rare, genuine warmth. “Now rest. I vill take care of everything else.” And with that, you allowed yourself to finally relax, knowing that, in this moment, you were safe—and your baby was in the best possible hands.

[the-martyrfication-of-the-matron]

I tried to watch mid but I'm really bad at caring about characters I don't know (I know it sounds stupid) I just couldn't bring myself to care.

Do you have anything new to do with Daemos culture (I'm looking at the MID wiki.)

I took forever to answer this, I’m sorry.

Basically, yeah, I have a bunch of culture stuff, but… I want to draw some of it and I can’t find my pen… so I’ll ramble about a few things in particular until I can.

Head wear/crowns.

Aaa

(This is copy pasted off of a discord rant I had about it)

Daemos royalty wear these big elaborate head dresses/crowns which accentuate the height of their horns, to make them ‘more intimidating’ and to basically brag about how rich they are, but due to practical and personal reasons, Asch only has his little ring on his horn

The size/material/colour/style of these head pieces will depend on the person, their status and their general reputation. The emperor will have the largest, most elaborate one, whilst lesser nobility will likely just have horn caps made of gold or something

Asch wearing the ring crown is seen as incredibly humble, and traditional in certain Daemos’ cultures, but he mostly just chose it over horn caps because it was his mother’s. Cultures outside of the few certain ones are not fond at all of Asch’s ring crown, however.

Horn caps, btw, if I’m not being clear, are little bits of jewellery that daemos wear on the ends of their horns. They can come in a variety of shapes and styles, but are typically shaped to fit the shape of the daemos’ horns and make their horns look taller. Some, however, opt for fashion over height, though that’s not very common

For this reason, someone being referred to as having a ‘weak neck’ is kind of a way to say that they’re not a good leader/are poor. Since larger headpieces put more strain on the wearer.

Adding on, other stuff not included in the discord rant;

The ‘weak neck’ insult also carries over into an insult to call certain Daemos ugly, as larger horns are seen as more attractive, and, y’know, larger horns = more strain on the daemos’ neck.

This insult can also go the other way. ‘A neck too strong for the horns it carries’ can be a compliment to say someone is skilled beyond their social class, but it can also refer to traitors, as they often have their horns removed. It’s a way to either say 'youre cool for a poor person' or that someone is untrustworthy. it depends, of course, on context.

Asch wearing only the ring crown is seen as a bit of a bad omen amongst the nobility. He is second in line to be emperor (though many support the idea of him usurping the throne after his father passes, so that it may not fall into Rhal’s hands), and such a small crown implies that he will not amount to much, or will fail in some way. Large crowns imply greatness, and yet Asch’s is small. They worry for what it means.

Lady Grandma is referred to as The Empress Mother in my rewrite. Since… Lady Grandma sucks as a character name but I still wanted to make the idea clear. She’s the mother of the emperor, and thus Asch’s grandmother. If Asch’s father were to pass, she would become The Empress Grandmother (since Rhal or Asch would take the throne, and they’re both her grandsons). I like to think the Daemos still like to give titles to their former monarchs, or, more accurately, their former monarchs have too much pride not to have their own unique titles.

Tw for mentions childbirth, complications surrounding childbirth, infant death and death during childbirth.

Royal children whose mothers die in childbirth are often referred to as Blood Princes/princesses, or whatever their title pay be, due to a small superstition that those who are born through violent births may lead violent lives. It is, oddly, a compliment, and many emperors have pushed their wives to have unsafe births in order to birth a Blood Prince son. In a violent culture, it’s something that is sought after. Of course, this leads to a lot of infant death in royal bloodlines, as unsafe pregnancies are also unsafe for the child.

Asch is a Blood Prince. However, the circumstances of his birth were a little more graphic and violent… and whilst his father can be blamed in some part for it, his father did not actually want a blood child, and so did not seek out a violent birth for his son as many did. Alas, Asch was born through blood and misery anyways.

[dirtytransmasc]

Ooh what about a Snow White Spider au where he was instead Raised by the animals of Pandora. Idk how he would have gotten separated from everyone but just love the idea of a Jungle Book, Mowgli situation. Just a little baby feral(even more so here)Eywa blessed Spider. 💕💕

TW - pregnancy, childbirth, death, etc. sorta did that here but she only adopts him when he was 8. so it would be a little different right form the get go, and by get go, I mean right after he was born.

lets say that paz tried to flee when she found out about the suicide mission to attack hometree and wanted nothing to do with it, maybe she finally came to her sense and fleed to eywa, to jake and the few other humans on the na'vi side, hoping for some sort of asylum. maybe she just wanted her son to have a chance. maybe she was just fleeing to flee, self-preservation overriding any sort of thought or logic. whatever the case, she flees out into the forest, hoping, praying, begging whoever will listen to save her child.

eywa listens. maybe for her sake, maybe for the childs, maybe just out of curiosity. but she listens.

she watches Paz struggle to birth her child, screaming "it's too early" all the while. eywa can feel her fear, can tell she's scared and doesn't know what to do. she watches as paz gives her all into it and still teeter on the verge of failure, of killing herself and her child, and assists her, connecting to the women through her roots. paz would think she was tripping, but really it was just eywa, one mother helping another.

when the baby is finally born, which was no easy task, even for the Great Mother herself, paz worries he won't be able to breathe. but eywa already had it handled. spider cries, loud, beautiful cries, drawing the attention of all the flora and fauna in the area. a viperwolf watching the pair from a ridge, not lurking a target, but rather curious of the small thing wrapped in his mother's arms. paz wants to scare it away but finds herself too weak to do so, and then a surge of clam fills her, Eywa telling her it will all be ok.

paz can feel herself dying, some complication or another, she was a high-risk pregnancy to begin with, and she had just delivered early in the middle of the damn forest after running god knows how many miles. while she would rather not die, leaving her premature son alone in these woods, she isn't surprised. instinct makes her want to beg, but as she slumps against the mossy tree trunk she propped herself against, she feels oddly ok with it. again, for the record, does not want to die, but she has this gut feeling her baby will be ok.

she wraps him in her military-issue jacket and holds him for as long as she can. she brushes a finger over his little nose and lets him hold onto her little finger with his entire tiny hand. she prays for her child, despite never having been religious. when she feels herself being on the last few steps of the stairway to heaven, she places spider next to her, so she doesn't risk dropping him.

the las thting she see's is that viperwolf approaching her, calmly, looking back to her cubs half hidden don't he ridge she stood on before. they look each other in the eye, and paz knows, against all rational thought, the way a mother knows, somehow, some way, things will be fine. she lets go, she goes to eywa, leaving her son behind. she was right. eywa was gonna look out for the little one.

~~~

spider was hidden away from the war by viperwolves; they were best inept for handling him so young, so tiny. they hid him in their burrows, amongst their other young, and the whole pack would watch after him. they made sure he was clean and fed, much like Lupa had Romulus and Remus back in old earth tales (an old roman/italian myth, look it up). even as he began to walk and explore, they kept him well away from the na'vi, upon eywa's orders. spider wouldn't be safe there, not yet at least, not till he could hold his own. he wouldn't be accepted, not in a way that would be any good for him. so she would keep him out in the forests, away from anyone who could think of hurting him.

he was raised by all the creatures of the forest how to survive, how to stalk pray and hunt, how to find shelter, how to find clean water. he picked up habits of each creature.

he kept to packs like viperwolves, but hunted alone like thanators. he was closely bonded to the herds of titanothere's that roamed the woods and learn to be a gentle 'giant'.he got his speed and agility from slintsh, watching how they raced through the tree tops with grace, learning to copy them, if even at a fraction of the speed.

once she accepted spider would have to be aware of other na'vi, for his sake, she started connecting to him, not for comfort, but to teach him. she started teaching him language and songs (not of the creatures he considered family, but of the na'vi themselves). she taught him most basic concepts in the form she had taken to appear visible to the child. she told him of his mother, how she was a good women, at least in the end, how she was a good person caught up i bad thing. they talked about what they meant, what spider felt that it meant about her. he didn't know. he wanted to hate her, for his his Mother, for hurting pandora, but also pity, because she was forced, in some ways. he would meet her one day, when he was ready, Eywa knew the day was coming, as he asked more and more questions. that was ok, little bird had to fly the nest one day. even if she hated the idea.

spider was aware of the world out there, was allowed to venture towards it, around 13 or so, but he chose to be cautious. Eywa said there was nothing to fear, not now at least, but he didn't want to approach this unknown world. he did venture closer, stalking up in the trees and watching hunters go about their days, children playing. one day he met kiri, who kept his secret after many desperate pleas. she called him odd, said the way he walked, almost bipedal was strange, and the way he made sounds rather than words more often, or how he didn't know what fire was. spider said that was the way things should be done. she didn't disagree, just smiled at him, copying his actions every now and then.

spider had a lot of little quirks. he tipped and chirped and almost barked, imitating to the best of his ability the sounds of the creatures that raised him. he could walk 'normally' but found it easier to crouch and use his hands. he didn't hunt with a knife or a bow and arrow, instead used primitive stones and teeth, long shards of bone, and ate his foods raw. his skin was rough, not only from the sun and heavy use, but because he caked himself with dirt to make it more durable, avoid sunburn and bugs, and to better blend in. not to mention his naturally primitive way of living; sleeping up in the highest branches of trees, with nothing but the loincloth eywa forced him to make and start wearing when he was first capable of doing so.

thats not to mention he shock when he named most animals in his territory, when he was friendly with all fo them, when he could ride the apex predator of the forest and considered vipewolves to be his family.

when kiri would leave, promsing to tell no one, he would go to eywa and ask about the na'vi. she would share stories with him, even have him meet ancestors, like tsu'tey and eytukan, who he really liked. he also met kiri's mom, grace, another human. she taught him a lot about who he was, what it meant that he was human; but she also shared her fascination, a human boy raised by 'wolves', was the greatest of revelations.

one day spider would venture into the village, after months of getting to know kiri and eventually lo'ak and finally neteyam before he got ratted out by a hunter sent to find out where he children of the chief were hiding away. he would stand in front of jake and tell him Eywa was his mother, just like the viperwolves and the titantheres, and a woman named paz who was a good person and did bad things without knowing just how bad they were. jake would stare in shock at this wild child with golden hair and dirt roughened skin, would listen to his stories, follow him out into the woods and find they were all true. spider would refuse to stay in the village, but would quickly take to his new life; the boy who came and left as he pleased, who was the marker of a whole new chapter of the na'vi people.

[k-rising]

5th house

What's the 5th house: This house is ruled by Leo and represents self-realization and personal self-expression. This house refers to love, pleasures and hobbies, children and our creativity and artistic abilities.

‼️ TW: sensitive topics - m1sc4rr14g3s, family issues and substances

𝐒𝐮𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

These people are self-sufficient, creative, friendly and cheerful. They like drama, being the center of attention and maybe having children is very important to them. These individuals usually have many friends and like to live life without restrictions.

If the Sun is badly aspected this can lead to infidelity and abuse of authority.

𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

These individuals are emotional and creative people. They usually have many partners and have a great protective instinct. These people tend to channel their emotions through art and going out with their friends relaxes them a lot. If they have children, they may have a special relationship with one of them.

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

People with Mercury in the 5th house are very versatile, original individuals with an unusual charisma. Writing and talking helps them a lot to unburden.

Regarding love, these people have a hard time being with one partner for a long time.

If Mercury is badly aspected this can lead to self-centeredness.

𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

These people are flirtatious, sensual, playful, charismatic and loyal. They are in love with love! They need to have a crush all the time and it's very common for them to have a lot of admirers. People who have Venus in their 5th house are nourished by the affection and love they receive from others, but they also freely express all their affection to the people they love the most.

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

These people are seductive and enjoy the pleasures of life. However, many times, they tend to get carried away by their instincts and find it difficult to contain their energy. Their love life is usually turbulent and, if Mars is badly aspected, they may have complications when it comes to having s3x.

This position can also symbolize having precipitous pregnancies. If you want to have children, they are going to have many complications. Births are usually quick and painful.

𝐉𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

These people are playful and entertaining; others like to spend time with them. These individuals love to be the center of attention. However, their ego can often get in their way. They are not afraid to start new things, since they like challenges.

𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

These individuals often withhold their creative and playful energy, and feel guilty when they are not doing something productive. People with Saturn in the 5th house don't usually get romantically involved with anyone… plus, they may have had a very strict education.

If they wish to have children, it's very likely that they may experience problems with fertility and childbirth. Pregnancy often occurs later in life or can be problematic.

𝐔𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

People with Uranus in the 5th house have the need to seek their self-discovery. These individuals are modern, independent, and possess unique talents, gifts, and abilities. Love usually starts and/or ends suddenly. They often discover new hobbies or interests that may be considered "unusual."

𝐍𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

These individuals are romantic, seductive, imaginative and dependent. In love, it's difficult for them to use logic, since they tend to fall more in love with the idealization they made about their crush than with the real person.

If Neptune is badly spectated, these people can end up consuming substances.

If they want to have a child, they will probably end up adopting, since this position can indicate difficulties in having a baby.

𝐏𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

These people are dramatic and possessive; they are afraid of loss and betrayal. Their romantic relationships are often dominant, intense, and highly sexual. They may also have the need to hide their relationship.

If they haven't reached their goals and want to have a child, it's very likely that they will force their children to fulfill their frustrated dreams. This position can also indicate m1sc4rr14g3s or giving a child up for adoption.

‧͙⁺˚･༓☾　𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔! 　☽༓･˚⁺‧͙

[system-sexuality]

Awareness post for in-system pregnancy - TW for pregnancy loss, infertility.

Those who are trying to or want to concieve. Those who have had biological children within their own system. Those who are struggling to concieve or experience infertility in their system.

Those who need to take preventative measures like contraceptives for innerworld/headspace sex to avoid pregnancy. Those who have had abortions within their system.

Those with "unusual" or unique pregnancies. Quick or immediate gestation periods, extended gestation periods. Forgetting that you're pregnant. Those that needed to "construct" or make a tulpa of their child in order to complete the pregnancy.

Those with pregnancy phobias, pregnancy trauma, or post-partum conditions which affect your system in some way. Those that experience pregnancy complications in-system. Those that experience symptoms of pregnancy in their body during an in-system pregnancy. Those that hold onto trauma from or related to pregnancy.

Those who experience gender dysphoria or body dysmorphia due to how pregnancy functions in their system.

Those who have experienced the loss of a pregnancy in their system. Those who have lost system members during in-system childbirth.

Whatever your experience with in-system pregnancy is, it is valid, and your feelings about it are valid. You can be proud. You can hold onto hope if you have a goal in mind. You can protect yourself to feel safer. You may grieve if you need to.

Your emotions are real. Your pain is very, very real.